Perspectives on Africa

Live Virtual Auction, 17 February 2025

Perspectives on Africa
About the Session

Strauss & Co is pleased to present Perspectives on Africa, a sale that explores the complexity, beauty, and fluidity of perspectives through African art and works by artists with strong ties to the continent. The sale coalesces the rich and varied connections between Africa and its artistic expressions, presenting works that span figuration, landscape, and abstraction, inviting collectors to engage with powerful narratives emerging from Africa's evolving perspectives. The works reflect layered meanings, both as a method  of representing depth and dimension as a way of framing our understanding of the world. Work by Contemporary artists reflects on the historical foundations of Modernist artists, exploring themes such as identity, belonging, urbanisation, and re-encounters with tradition, while the sale transitions to Modernist interpretations of Africa, exploring the complexity of colonial encounters, post-independence aspirations, and indigenous practices. Building on Strauss & Co’s commitment to developing a strong local photography market, the sale includes an artist focus on the work of social documentarian Paul Alberts, whose images captured poignant narratives of everyday life, particularly in Cape Town. These works sit alongside David Goldblatt and Zanele Muholi, whose visceral images explore themes of identity, social justice and the multifaceted realities of African life.


  • Gerard Sekoto; Street Games, Soweto
  • Gerard Sekoto; Street Games, Soweto
  • Gerard Sekoto; Street Games, Soweto
All images © Gerard Sekoto Foundation | DALRO


Lot Estimate
ZAR 400 000 - 600 000

About this Item

South African 1913-1993
Street Games, Soweto

signed and dated 74; inscribed with the artist's name and the title on the reverse

gouache on paper laid down on board
52 by 36cm excluding frame; 73 by 54 by 3,5cm including frame

Provenance

Collection of Gregoire Boonzaier.

Notes

Gerard Sekoto was a master of light and colour, and in the present lot, the warm and earthy palette vividly conveys the heat and vibrancy of township life. Township scenes were among Sekoto's most significant and enduring subjects. Initially explored during the 1930s and 1940s in South Africa, they were revisited throughout his career, even while living and working in France. This work, created in 1974, encapsulates the artist's ability to bring movement and rhythm to scenes of everyday life.

View all Gerard Sekoto lots for sale in this auction